Thursday, January 20, 2011

My First Ski Lesson

Last night was supposed to be Austin and Rob's last ski lesson. But, when returned home at about 5pm from his 3 day trip in Florida (70 degrees there) the last thing he wanted to do was hit the slopes on 5 degree weather. He felt guilty about not finishing his lessons but his heart was really not in it. I called Hyland Hills and they said I could use his lift ticket to go skiing (no lesson) so that is what we opted to do. I got Austin all set up for his last lesson. He informed me I was doing everything wrong and not how Daddy does it. We didn't walk up the right side of the stairs leading to the chalet. We didn't sit on the right bench to put our boots on. We didn't stand in the right spot to wait for his teacher. Austin is definitely a creature of habit and I apparently did my best to break every single one of them last night.

Nevertheless I got Austin to his teacher and off he went to tackle his final lesson. Rob told me his teacher was an "older" lady and that if I saw her standing around I should tell her he is not coming. After scanning the teachers I found two ladies that fit the description. I picked correctly the first time and informed her Rob was too much of a wimp to take his last lesson. I then thought I was on my way to a night of solo skiing when she said "Okay, well, do you feel comfortable going down this hill and I'll watch you from down here?" I stuttered a "sure" out of confusion which she mistook for hesitation and said "If you're not comfortable please tell me." I then explained that I was definitely comfortable going down the hills, but that I was just confused about taking Rob's lesson. She said "Well, you don't have to, but you can if you want". So I did.

After 25 or so years of intermittent skiing I finally had a lesson. I learned that I do everything wrong.

In my defense, she said my form was great if I were still using equipment from the early 90s. But apparently with the new technology in skiing everything has changed about how you want to stand. Long story short, I started skiing in 5 degrees, stopped skiing an hour and a half later in -5 degrees, and only skied on two hills doing basic turns. I guess even if I'm doing it wrong, I get down the hills just fine and I'll probably pass on the lessons next time. I know I'm not on my way to the Olympics anytime soon. I'll probably just continue down the hill in my usual fashion and stay a little warmer in the process by not waiting for instructions.

Austin was crying when I picked him up because he was so cold. His teacher said he understands the movements he needs to make but lacks the "umph" to make them work. He can do a snow plow to stop, but doesn't have the muscle strength to dig his skis in and catch and edge to actually make him stop. If it weren't so cold I would have talked to her longer about how to work with him, but knowing my son, I know what I have to do. I have to explain how the ski works. I can almost guarantee that if I tell him about edges and how they help you turn and stop, it will make a connection for him and the next time he goes out he will make some progress because he will have been formulating the physics of it all in his head for the past few weeks. It's how us nerds work.

Even though it's always fun to be out on the slopes, overall it wasn't a great night for either of us and perhaps Rob was less "wimp" and more "wise".

About Me

I'm living life one day at a time and doing my best to get the most out of each day. I stay at home with my three entertaining kids and pretend to be "Susy Homemaker". I have a passion for finding a good deal and passing it on, I'm recently addicted to party planning, and enjoy sharing tasty and easy recipes for other busy families. I hope you enjoy my random dribble!